Guinness book literary records

1 – Thickest unpublished book in the world

Das Buch des dickste Universums, edited by Zeitgeist Media GMBH. It brings together texts and drawings made by children in a contest organized by the German Federal Ministry of Transport. The spine of the book measures just over 4 meters. There are 50,560 pages and it weighs 220 kg. Interested?

You can order it at any bookstore in Germany for “only” 9,999 euros.

2 – Oldest person to publish their first book

Bertha Wood, an Englishwoman, had her first book published on her 100th birthday on June 20, 2005. It's called The Story of a Blackpool Camp, and it's a memoir, which she started writing at the age of 90.

3 – Oldest novel in the world

Callirhoe (also called Chaireas and Callirhoe), from Chariton, a Greek. From the papyri found, it is believed to be from the first century after Christ. The story takes place in Syracuse and narrates the adventures of a bride named Callirhoe.

4 – Author of the world's youngest bestselling book series

This is an acquaintance of the children's public: Christopher Paolini. The young man published the first book in the Inheritance Cycle series, whose initial volume is Eragon, at the age of 15. It subsequently sold over 20 million books worldwide.

5 – Most expensive book sold at auction

A rare copy of Birds of America was sold by a buyer for €7.3 million in 2018. The 19th-century book contains 1,047 life-size illustrations of 435 hand-drawn and colored birds.

6 – Most translated author worldwide

That category is easy: Agatha Christie. According to the UNESCO inventory of book translations, the queen of crime has 6,598 translations of her short stories, novels and plays.

 7 – Greatest book title in the world

It's 5,633 characters - 1,086 words - and was written by Dr. Sreenathachary Vangeepuram from India in 2010. And you want to know the title? Not even the Guinness website made it available on the website.

8 – Biggest book in the world

The XIII Bienal do Livro in Rio de Janeiro, in 2007, had a record. There was an edition of The Little Prince that measured 2.01 m high and 3.08 m wide when opened, with 128 pages.

9 – Longest time turning a book in your fingertips

30 minutes and 1.08 seconds. That's how long Thaneswar Guragai from Nepal could keep turning a book with his finger.

10 – Fastest marathon runner dressed as a literary character

That record goes to David Ross, who finished the London marathon in 3 hours, 2 minutes and 30 seconds dressed as Dennis the Menace.

Source: Guinnes Book